LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION congratulating Ruth Gruber upon the occasion of
celebrating her 100th Birthday

WHEREAS, Senior citizens bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to
the increasingly active roles they play in today's society; their past
contributions and future participation are a vital part of, and valuable
asset to, the fabric of community life and activity; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to congratulate Ruth
Gruber upon the occasion of celebrating her 100th Birthday, to be
observed at a special event on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, at the Robert Kaye
Training Center in Brooklyn, New York; and
WHEREAS, Ruth Gruber was born on September 30, 1911, in Brooklyn, New
York, one of five children of Russian Jewish immigrant parents' David
and Gussie Gruber; and
WHEREAS, At the age of 18, Ruth Gruber was awarded a postgraduate
fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; in 1931, she was
awarded another fellowship from the Institute of International Education
to study in Cologne, Germany; and
WHEREAS, Ruth Gruber received a Ph.D degree in one year from the
University of Cologne in German Philosophy, Modern English Literature
and Art History; at the young age of 20, she became the youngest person
in the world to receive a doctorate; and
WHEREAS, In 1932, Ruth Gruber began her writing career; two years
later, THE NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE asked her to write a feature series
about women under Fascism and Communism; while working for THE HERALD
TRIBUNE, she became the first foreign correspondent to fly through Sibe-
ria into the Soviet Arctic; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, Secretary of the Interior, Harold L.
Ickes, appointed Ruth Gruber as his Special Assistant; in this role, she
carried out a study on the prospects of Alaska for homesteading G.I.s
after the war; and
WHEREAS, In 1944, Ruth Gruber was assigned a secret mission to Europe
to bring one thousand Jewish refugees and wounded American soldiers from
Italy to the United States; and
WHEREAS, In 1946, Ruth Gruber took leave from her federal post to
return to journalism; the NEW YORK POST asked her to cover the work of a
newly created Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry on Palestine; and
WHEREAS, Ruth Gruber witnessed and photographed Jewish refugees from
the Exodus 1947 ship entering the Haifa harbor after it was attacked by
the Royal Navy while making an attempt to deliver 4,500 Jewish refugees;
and
WHEREAS, In 1951, Ruth Gruber married; she gave birth to two children
and continued her journalistic travels; during this time she wrote a
popular column for HADASSAH MAGAZINE, "Diary of an American Housewife";
and
WHEREAS, In 1978, Ruth Gruber spent a year in Israel writing RAQUELA:
A WOMAN OF ISRAEL, about an Israeli nurse, Raquela Prywes, who worked in
a British detention camp and in a hospital in Beersheba; this book won
the National Jewish Book Award in 1979 for Best Book on Israel; and
WHEREAS, At the age of 74, Ruth Gruber visited isolated Jewish
villages in Ethiopia and described the rescue of the Ethiopian Jews in
RESCUE: THE EXODUS OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS; and
WHEREAS, Ruth Gruber has received many awards for her writing and
humanitarian acts, including the Na'amat Golda Meir Human Rights Award
and awards from the Simon Wiesenthal Centers Museum of Tolerance; more-
over, on October 21, 2008, Ruth Gruber was honored for her work defend-
ing free expression by the National Coalition Against Censorship; and

WHEREAS, This exceptional centenarian, with her zest for life, has
inspired and enhanced the lives of her family and friends; and
WHEREAS, This distinguished woman has experienced the incredible joys
and sorrows characteristic of and reserved for those with the stamina
and courage to savor a full life; and
WHEREAS, This beloved woman has enriched the lives of those around her
through her joyous and sincere love for others and through the quiescent
charm and wisdom which comes only from a fullness of years; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to publicly recog-
nize those who have reached such a remarkable age and who have witnessed
and celebrated the innovations, cultural developments and awesome
achievements of this country during the last century, while themselves
contributing to the growth and excellence of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate Ruth Gruber upon the occasion of her 100th Birthday; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Ruth Gruber.